title: TiO2-graphene composites with exposed {001} facets produced by a one-pot solvothermal approach for high performance photocatalyst.
abstract: TiO2-graphene (TOG) composites with exposed TiO2 {001} facets were prepared by a solvothermal approach without any addition of surfactants or capping agents, only using titanium isopropoxide and graphene oxide ethanol suspension as the precursors. Graphene was covered uniformly and densely with anatase TiO2 nanoparticles, exposing the {001} facets. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and photocurrent measurements show the presence of electron transfer between TiO2 and graphene. The electron transfer between TiO2 and graphene will greatly retard the recombination of photoinduced charge carriers and prolong electron lifetime, which will contribute to the enhancement of photocatalytic performance. Accordingly, the TOG composites show high photocatalytic activity of methyl orange under UV light, likely due to the effective separation of photoinduced charge, exposure of highly reactive {001} facets and great adsorptivity of dyes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330013, P R China.
authors.forename: Tiewen
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Rongbin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Changyuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shuwang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duo
authors.forename: Quanhong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hu